With rapid development of network transmission technologies, content that can be provided by using the Internet is increasingly rich. For example, a user can read news, listen to music, and watch a movie by using the Internet. By using a latest network transmission technology, content provided by a content provider site (that is, a content source) can be transmitted to a user terminal with an extremely short delay.
Through strengthened cooperation with a content provider, a telecommunications operator has developed a new charging mode. The telecommunications operator can develop a special traffic package for the cooperative content provider. By subscribing to this type of traffic package, all traffic generated when a user obtains content from the content provider site is separately counted into the foregoing traffic package. In a specific implementation process, the telecommunications operator may analyze a content request sent by the user, so as to obtain information about the content provider site. For example, the telecommunications operator may analyze an IP (internet protocol) address to which the content request points, so as to determine a site to which the content request points, that is, the content provider site. In this way, the content provider can be determined according to the content provider site. In addition, because the content request generally includes a URL (uniform resource locator) of requested content, the telecommunications operator may determine the content provider site by analyzing the URL, so as to determine the content provider according to the content provider site. In this way, the telecommunications operator can count traffic generated by the requested content into a traffic package to which the user subscribes from the content provider.
With rapid popularization of a mobile terminal, an increasing number of service providers provide services to a user by using dedicated software installed on the mobile terminal. This type of dedicated software is generally referred to as an application (App), which is developed by a service provider. By using this type of application, the user can conveniently enjoy a service provided by the service provider. Among numerous applications, a social application is most popular. This type of application not only can implement instant messaging between a user and a friend, but also can help the user view, at any time, various information shared by the friend.
By imitating the traffic package specially developed for the content provider, the telecommunications operator has also developed a corresponding traffic package for the social application. According to an initial idea of the telecommunications operator, by using this traffic package, all traffic generated when the user enjoys a service (such as instant messaging) and accesses content (such as information shared by the friend) by using the social application is counted into the traffic package that is set for the social application and to which the user subscribes. However, in a use process, the user finds that the traffic generated by using the social application is not completely counted into the corresponding traffic package. A root cause of this problem lies in that not all content accessed by the user by using the applications of a social category is provided by a service provider site that provides the applications of a social category, that is, not all access requests for the foregoing content point to the service provider site that provides the social application.
The following describes the cause of the foregoing problem by using an example of a process in which the user accesses, by using a WeChat™ application provided by Tencent™, content shared by the friend. A friend circle function provided by the WeChat™ allows the user to access the content shared by the friend, such as an article, a picture, a song, and a movie. When sharing a clip of video content, the friend can inset an access portal of the video content into the friend circle, and the access portal may be presented as a video playing window in a friend circle window. When the user taps a playing button on the video playing window, the WeChat™ requests the video content from a content provider site that provides the video content, and plays the obtained video content in the foregoing video playing window. However, the content provider that provides the foregoing video content may not be the service provider Tencent™ that develops the WeChat™; therefore, an access request for the foregoing video content may not point to a site of Tencent™. For example, when a friend shares video content provided by Youku™ in a friend circle of the WeChat™, although the user requests the video content by using the WeChat™, the video content is still provided by a site of Youku™ (not the site of Tencent™). In this way, when the user taps the playing button, the WeChat requests the foregoing video content from the site of Youku™, instead of requesting the foregoing video content from the site of the Tencent™. However, from the perspective of the user, because the user watches the video content in the video window in the window of the friend circle of the WeChat™ (that is, the user is not out of the WeChat™ application when watching the video content), traffic generated by the video content should be counted into a traffic package corresponding to the WeChat™.
It can be learned that according to an existing charging technology, traffic generated when the user accesses the content by using the social application may not be necessarily counted into the traffic package corresponding to the social application.